


Barn Dance

by AnyoneforteaUS (Thalassatx)



Category: Picnic (2013)
Genre: F/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 21:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19411642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thalassatx/pseuds/AnyoneforteaUS
Summary: This is for @book-dragon-13, for the HBC Summer Meet Cute challenge.  I hope you enjoy!!Reader is at a barn dance in the heat of the summer, and she just can't get away from a boy who wants to dance, until the new guy in town rescues her.





	Barn Dance

You’re standing near the punch at the hottest summer barn dance you’ve ever attended. You’d worn your pretty blue sundress, with bare legs and low sandals, but despite putting your hair in a ponytail, you knew you’d gone past glowing straight into sweating. That didn’t seem to disturb Jimmy Pell, who was currently pestering the daylights out of you. “C’mon, Y/N, just one dance?” he wheedled.

You smile at him, being polite and all, and you fan yourself with a paper plate you’d acquired. “I’m sorry, Jimmy, but it’s just too hot to want to dance.” The real truth was that Jimmy wasn’t the brightest boy in town, and in fact he might have been the slowest. He was nice enough, but definitely not your type, and you didn’t want to encourage him, even a little. He might have been slow, but he was so determined. Once he thought someone liked him, he was like a dog on a bone.

Just then, that new man in town came over, and somehow, he had a large cup of ice in his hand. “Miss?” he began with a bright smile. “I just discovered that if you smile real nice at the church ladies, they have a cooler with ice. Wouldya like some?” Jimmy seemed to disappear as you brightened. 

“Yes, sir!” you answered quickly. “If I could have just a little of that with some punch, that’d suit me fine!” His own smile widened. 

“What if I do this?” he suggested, as he turned to the punch bowl. He dipped out enough to fill the cup, then offered it to you. “Would you mind sharing? I won’t drink much,” he promised.

You couldn’t help but blush a little. “I don’t even know your name,” you responded. “I’d hate to take your punch.” 

He grinned. “The name’s Hal Carter. I just moved into town, looking for work. Now tell me yours and we’ll be old friends.”

You laughed merrily. “Well, my name is Y/N Y/L/N, and I’ve lived here all my life. I just finished high school and I’m not sure if I’m going to college or finding work myself.” You extended your hand. “Shake on it, and we are definitely friends!”

His eyes, a soft blue grey, sparkled as he took your hand. “It is so nice to meet you,” he assured you, shaking your hand briefly, then lifting it to his mouth to press a quick kiss against the back of it. He was most certainly not a native of this podunk town, you thought, and you blushed brightly again as he slowly looked up at you through his curls falling onto his forehead.

Goodness, you didn’t think you’d ever seen a man so handsome! He even had a dimple in his chin, like some kind of movie star. He held out the cup of iced punch. “Here you go,” he offered. “You look mighty flushed in the heat,” he added, but his grin told you he knew exactly what had you so red.  
You took it and took a long swallow of the cold drink. “That’s so much better,” you sigh happily, then hold it back out for him. Hal takes it, and turns it, so he’s placing his lips right over the little bit of lipstick you’d left on the edge. He doesn’t take his eyes from yours as he takes a sip, then he bites his bottom lip. “That’s just delicious, honey.”

You feel your heart beat faster. What a flirt! You knew your mama wouldn’t approve of a man this forward, but you didn’t mind at all. In fact, you offered him your hand. “Would you like to walk outside, Hal? Maybe we could catch a breeze.”

He took your hand and tucked it into his elbow as he led you out under the moonlight. Away from the noise and the crowd, you enjoyed the light wind on your overheated skin, and you sighed contentedly. Hal took advantage of the dark to slip his arm around your shoulder. “So, Y/N. what do you dream about doing?”

You say, “Oh, it’s silly. You don’t want to hear about it.”

He gives you a little squeeze. “Dreams are important, sugar. Even if they sound silly right now, you gotta work and make them come true.”

You blush and look down at the path. “I dream about moving away from here. Sometimes I dream I’m going to college, and sometimes it’s about working in a big city, but it’s always a dream about being out of this little bump in the road.”

Hal stops walking and turns you to look at him. “There is nothing at all silly about either of those dreams. You shouldn’t have to live somewhere little all your life. You should get out, see the world, do something exciting before you settle down.”

You smile brightly. No one ever encouraged you to do that! “You think I really could?”

Hal laughed. “Of course you could! All you need is a train ticket, or maybe a boyfriend with a car,” he winked. “Then you head out of here and don’t look back. When you get where you’re going, write the folks a letter and tell them your address, and just LIVE. It’s what I did, except I haven’t really got to where I’m going yet,” he admitted. 

“So where are you going, Hal?” you ask boldly. He shrugs. “I don’t know yet, Y/N. But just like you, it ain’t here. I’m not dumb. I work hard when I want to, and I intend to make enough money for a house, a wife, and maybe a couple of little ones someday. Maybe on a coast, so I could take my family to the beach now and then and get out of the heat.”

Your eyes are wide. “So how long are you going to stay here?” you ask. 

He shakes his head. “Not long I hope. Long enough to make some money and then I’m gonna move on to somewhere better. Maybe six months?”  
Your face falls. “Oh,” you say quietly. “Well, I guess we should go back.”

Hal looks at you quizzically. “What’s wrong Sugar? Right now, I’m right here. And you’re right here. And you’re the prettiest gal I’ve seen in a long long time. I was hoping maybe you’d let me take you out next weekend.”

You smile sadly. “But you’re going to leave me behind when you move on.”

Hal grinned. “I might take you with me, unless of course you’re ready to go back and let that dummy flirt with you some more.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “You know, I can still hear the music, and we do have punch. Maybe we should just do our dancing out here, then I’ll let you know about next weekend.” You wink at him, and his smile widens.

The two of you dance under the stars until you hear the band calling it a night, and you frown. “Well, phooey! I guess it’s time to go home.” Hal pulled you closer, against his broad chest. He nuzzled your temple gently. 

“Do you think I could walk you home, Y/N?” he asked, in his soft purr. You wrap your arms around his slim waist. “I’d love it if you would,” you answer.

He holds you close with one arm, and you stroll back the half mile to your house. When it’s just a block away, he stops, and pulls you into the shadows. “Would your daddy get mad if I kissed you on the porch?”

You sigh. “Yes, he probably would. Since he doesn’t know you or anything.”

Hal nods, quite seriously. “I don’t want to make your daddy mad,” he explains. “So I guess I’d better kiss you right here, where he won’t know about it.”

You tilt your head up, eager for his kiss, and you see his wicked little smile. “Now you do have to promise me you won’t let old Jimmy kiss you like this,” he says, before lowering his mouth to yours. His lips were warm and soft, and you melt into him. He moves his hands to cup your face, and he delicately licks at your mouth. Before you can respond, he pulls back. “I’d better stop,” he said. “Or I won’t want to walk you home at all.”

Your heart is pounding, and you nod in agreement, despite wanting to know what else he was thinking about. “I’m so glad I met you Hal,” you say earnestly. “Will you come see me next weekend?” 

Hal grinned as he walked you the rest of the way home. “Friday evening, I’ll come over,” he promised. “If you think that’ll be all right, of course.”  
You nod eagerly. “I’ll have to introduce you to my parents, you know,” you add. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “It’ll be worth it, Sugar. Anything I have to do to kiss those sweet lips again.”


End file.
